Ratcliff Highway Murders - The Second Murders

The Second Murders

The same night the initials were discovered on the maul, and twelve days after the first killings, the second murders occurred at The Kings Arms tavern at 81 New Gravel Lane (now Garnet Street). The victims were 56 year old John Williamson, the publican who had run the tavern for 15 years; Elizabeth, his 60 year old wife; and their servant, Bridget Anna Harrington, who was in her late 50's. The Kings Arms was a tall two-story building, but despite its proximity to the Highway, it was not a rowdy establishment, as the Williamsons liked to retire early.

Earlier that night, Williamson had told one of the parish constables that he had seen a man wearing a brown jacket sneaking around the place, listening at his door. He asked that the officer keep an eye out for him and arrest him. Not long after, that same constable heard a cry of "Murder!" As a crowd gathered outside the Kings Arms, a nearly naked man descended from the second floor using a rope of knotted sheets. As he dropped to the street, he was crying incoherently; it was John Turner, a lodger and journeyman who had been there for some eight months.

The crowd forced the tavern doors open, and once inside they saw the body of Williamson, lying on its back on the steps leading into the taproom, his head beaten and his throat cut, an iron crowbar lying at his side. While this bar appeared to be the weapon that had beaten him, a sharper implement had slit his throat and nearly hacked off his hand. Elizabeth Williamson and the inn's maid were found in the parlor, with smashed skulls and slit throats. Harrington's feet were beneath the grate, as if she were struck down in the act of preparing the fire for the next morning; her mistress's neck had been severed to the bone.

The crowd armed themselves and stormed through the inn in search of possible perpetrators. They discovered the Williamson's 14-year-old granddaughter, Catherine (Kitty) Stillwell, who lived with them, in her bed, alive and untouched. Given what had happened to the Marr family twelve days earlier, it seemed miraculous that she had slept through the entire attack and had no idea what had just occurred downstairs.

The bodies were placed on their beds and the surviving girl was taken to a safer home. Fire bells were rung to call out volunteers, while London Bridge was sealed off. Acting on eyewitness accounts that a tall man was loitering outside the tavern that night, wearing a flushing coat (a loose-fitting, hooded garment), several Bow Street Runners, an early City-based type of detective, were assigned to hunt down the murderer. In one report, John Turner, the lodger who escaped, claimed he had shouted for help, scaring the killer away. He also stated he had seen a tall man in a dark-colored flushing coat near Mrs. Williamson's corpse, but he was also viewed as a suspect at this time and his report was not give its full weight. After-hours entry to the premises was found to have been gained by forcing open the cellar flap. An open tavern window with bloodstains on the sill was discovered, indicating the murderer's escape route; a footprint in the mud outside seemed to confirm this. The unknown assailant apparently escaped by running along a clay-covered slope, so it was assumed by the police that he would have gotten clay all over his clothing, making him easy to identify.

It was pointed out that this type of escape route was similar to the one taken by the person who had murdered the Marr family. There were no known connections between the two families, and there was also no apparent motive for this recent slaughter. As Williamson's watch was missing and both crimes had been interrupted, they might still have started off as simple robberies, but no one could be certain of this.

A haphazard sort of task force was assembled, composed of police officers from various parishes and a posse of Bow Street Runners. It quickly arrested a suspect who lived in the area who had recently purchased a gallon of brandy, and who also had recently cleaned trousers to get rid of what a local doctor claimed to be bloodstains. No forensic tests existed at this time to test this theory, but the man was detained anyway. Other witnesses claimed to have seen two men running up Ratcliff Highway that night, a tall man with a limp and a shorter man, but these clues were vague and did not result in any clear leads. Local magistrates convened and quickly offered another reward of 100 guineas, double the amount of the Marr reward, for information leading to the capture of the culprit, and handbills were drafted and posted within the hour. Rewards were offered by three different parishes for information, including two other offers of ₤50. With two horrific crimes so close in time and geographical area, London feared it had a mass murderer on its midst who might strike yet again. The public purchased locks at great expense to keep intruders out.